Ethereum co-founder Anthony Di Iorio emphasizes that the blockchain was never intended to be a direct competitor to Bitcoin, but rather an alternative that could bring about new use cases and opportunities.
The Vision of a Blockchain Alternative
Ethereum co-founder Anthony Di Iorio emphasizes that the blockchain was never intended to be a direct competitor to Bitcoin, but rather an alternative that could bring about new use cases and opportunities.
Anthony Di Iorio is a Canadian entrepreneur, investor, and blockchain expert. He co-founded Ethereum, one of the largest and most influential 'cryptocurrencies' in the world. Di Iorio also founded Jaxx, a digital wallet that supports multiple 'cryptocurrencies.' He has been involved in various blockchain projects and has spoken at numerous conferences on the topic.
A Different Path: Ethereum’s Early Days
In an interview at Consensus 2025, Di Iorio shared his insights on Ethereum’s early days, noting that he understood back then that the project had the potential to become a massive movement. ‘We could sense and feel that it was picking up,’ he said.
Di Iorio‘s journey into cryptocurrency began with Bitcoin advocacy in Toronto in 2012, where he met Vitalik Buterin, who later created the Ethereum whitepaper and shared it with his fellow co-founders. Although Di Iorio remains a strong supporter of Bitcoin, he believes that Ethereum has the potential to overtake its market capitalization due to its vast use cases and value creation capabilities.
Ethereum and Bitcoin are two popular digital currencies that have gained significant attention in recent years.
While both are decentralized and use blockchain technology, they serve different purposes.
Bitcoin is primarily a medium of exchange, whereas Ethereum is a platform for building smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps).
Ethereum's network is more complex than Bitcoin's, with a focus on scalability and interoperability.
According to a report by Statista, in 2020, the total market capitalization of Ethereum was around $50 billion, while Bitcoin's market capitalization stood at approximately $2 trillion.
A New Vision for Decentralization
After stepping away from the Ethereum Foundation, Di Iorio founded Decentral in 2014, which is known for creating the Jaxx Liberty crypto wallet. In 2022, he launched Andiami, a project that combines hardware, tokenomics, and game theory to tackle centralization vectors within decentralized networks.
A Shift in Perspective
Di Iorio‘s comments reflect a shift in perspective on the blockchain ecosystem, where Ethereum is no longer seen as a direct competitor to Bitcoin but rather as an alternative with its own unique value proposition. This new understanding has led to the creation of innovative projects like Andiami, which aim to bring decentralized technologies to a wider audience.
The Future of Blockchain Alternatives
As the blockchain landscape continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how Ethereum and other alternatives continue to shape the future of decentralization. With Di Iorio‘s vision for Ethereum as an alternative gaining traction, it’s clear that the next generation of blockchain projects is built on a new understanding of what it means to be a decentralized technology.
Ethereum is an open-source, decentralized, blockchain-based platform that enables the creation of smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps).
Founded in 2014 by Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum allows developers to build and deploy their own blockchain-based applications using its programming language, Solidity.
With a market capitalization of over $200 billion, Ethereum is one of the largest cryptocurrencies in the world.
